Our team

Carrie Taylor M.Sc., CCPE, CPE, R.Kin. Principal Ergonomist

Karen Hoodless M.Eng., CCPE, CPE Operations Manager/Ergonomist

Josie Blake B.Sc.(Hon.Kin.), AE Ergonomist, London, ON

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©Taylor’d Ergonomics Incorporated. Reproduction of parts of this newsletter is permitted if we are acknowledged as the source, and advised how our

newsletter is being used. www.taylordergo.com

May/June/July 2017 No. 128

TIMES

How to use ergonomics to retain employees

Not so long ago, Ontario was an employer’s market. Unemployment was high and we were all happy if we had a job. Today, at least in certain pockets of the employment market, the tables have turned. Tech companies find themselves competing for the best and brightest.

Why would ergonomics make a difference?

I challenge you, right now, to place this newsletter flat on your lap, and read the entire thing while hunching over it. At the end of page 3, answer the questions provided.

So you think that no one in your workplace works in as awkward a posture as this? Hogwash! We see people leaning forward, reaching forward, twisting, slouching, bending their wrists, and working in a truly incredible array of positions, every day. Any of these postures, for a few minutes at a time, is fine. But when they are used for the majority of the day, they signal trouble.

How can you leverage ergonomics support in your workplace?

In an ideal world, we know you would offer the services of an ergonomist to any employee who asked, and you’d have us provide training and awareness programs periodically. We would be involved in setting furniture and accessory standards, and we'd be there to help when you wanted to set up workstations for new employees, or introduce new software.

But even if you cannot afford to provide everything that we have to offer, consider this:

Completing an office assessment in response to an injury (or significant discomfort) fulfils your legal responsibility for accommodating injured workers.

An office assessment often results in a less costly solution than the employee might choose if s/he just went shopping for new “ergonomic” products.

Training office workers to adjust their furniture and chairs ergonomically takes about an hour, costs very little per person, and provides the employee with tools to take responsibility for his/her own health.

Providing sit/stand options, along with ergonomics training and reminders, has been shown to reduce musculoskeletal symptoms and visual discomfort, and to improve performance. (Robertson et al., Appl Ergo, 2013, 44(1):73-85)

If you’re looking for a way to increase your company’s profile in the eyes of potential employees, promote the fact that you offer ergonomics assessments, and ergonomically optimized workstations. We bet you’ll attract better candidates, and you’ll keep them longer.

Improving work design to exceed your goals for productivity, quality, and employee health.

SAVE A TREE! You’ll get more info, more often, if you convert to e-news. Just send us an email at info@taylordergo.com, call 519 623 7733, or fax 519 623 9164. to provide your email address. When you move, please update our list, and leave our contact info for the person who replaces you!

Shop our

store!

Looking for ways to increase employee engagement with your ergo program? Check out our “ergo” products, such as travel tumblers, grocery bags, clip boards, lunch bags, water bottles, and posters.

Ergo posters 4 poster topics are available:

□ Driver ergo

□ Lifting tips

□ Stretching

□ Office ergo Pricing: 1-9, $5.00 each 10-24, $3.60 each 25-99, $3.00 each 100+, $2.40 each

Call us for shipping prices. Add your logo—customization available! Credit cards accepted!

Shopping bags Shopping season is coming soon, and employees will appreciate the ergo shopping tips and professional graphics that are printed on these bags. These generously sized, non-woven bags have a flat bottom for optimum packing efficiency!

Pricing: 1-9, $5.00 each 10-24, $3.60 each 25-99, $3.00 each 100+, $2.40 each

©Taylor’d Ergonomics Incorporated. Reproduction of parts of this newsletter is permitted if we are acknowledged as the source, and advised how our newsletter is being used.

www.taylordergo.com

May/June/July 2017 No. 128

The Sky Hook

Virtually every industry employs some workers to manually handle loads. Over the years, companies have gotten much better at optimizing the design of these jobs. We install lift and rotate tables, lift and tilt tables, and hoists. We label heavy loads and optimize weights as much as possible. But some jobs have been more difficult to improve. We can provide training to help employees use the best practices available for awkward handling. Companies often have to assign extra staff to handle particularly heavy loads.

We’re always on the lookout for new and innovative material handling solutions. Here is one device that might work in situations where we’ve previously been unable to provide mechanical assistance. The Sky Hook can be installed on a pick up truck, van, forktruck, cart, or mounted to the floor. It can lift up to 400 lbs. Its hand wheel and gear box provide the user with a huge lifting advantage. We haven’t seen this in action (photos were kindly provided by KW Materials Handling), but we can think of a half dozen potential applications, where a traditional hoist was not practical.

For info, contact Todd McGuire, KW Materials Handling Inc., in Kitchener, ph 519-748-1345 www.ontarioindustrial.com, sales@kwmaterials.com.

If you come across other innovative products or methods, please let us know so we can share!

How to get free stuff

Ergo speakers If your professional association is looking for a speaker on an “ergo” topic, please contact Carrie. We would be happy to come out to speak with groups of human resources professionals, safety professionals, disability managers, production managers, or engineers! If you are within an hour radius of one of our offices, we’ll come at no charge. (We also offer many seminars and workshops for groups of employees—call for pricing.) Coffee with Carrie If you can spare a half hour to chat about your ergo program, Carrie would be happy to meet you for coffee. We’d love to hear about how you’re currently handling MSDs, quality issues related to worker performance, and productivity bottlenecks. If you’re doing great on your own, perhaps we can learn from you. Or, maybe we can help you to improve! E-news Get insightful news on ergonomics content every 2-3 weeks, including this newsletter. Just ask. Become an on-site ergo client. Our regular ongoing clients get loads more free stuff, including:

an ergo contest every 3 months, including prizes. Our most recent contest was an awareness piece on the difference betwee tools—manual, electric, pneumatic, and hydraulic.

a monthly ergo bulletin to share with workers, as a slide show or on a bulletin board. Our recent themes have included spring cleaning, stretching, and automated vehicles. We also provide an “ergo thought of the week”.

access to hundreds of one-page info sheets and puzzles on a huge variety of topics.

©Taylor’d Ergonomics Incorporated. Reproduction of parts of this newsletter is permitted if we are acknowledged as the source, and advised how our newsletter is being used.

www.taylordergo.com

May/June/July 2017 No. 128

6 ways you can help us Readers often tell us that they enjoy our newsletters, and that

they’ll call on us if they ever need support. If you’ve been a “fan” of ours, we’d really appreciate a moment of your time, to support us in our business endeavours. Here’s how:

1. Refer us to friends, relatives or business associates. This is the highest compliment we can receive. Ask them to contact carrie@taylordergo.com or call her at 519-623-7733 for ergonomics support or training.

2. Rate us on google if you’ve been happy with our work. If not, please let us know how we can improve.

3. Tell your friends to sign up for our e-news. If you’re getting this newsletter in “hard copy,” please convert to e-news. It’s free!

4. If you belong to a professional association, let your chapter know that we are available to present on any “ergo” topic!

5. If you have in idea for a product or service that would help you, let us know. We are working to expand some of our offerings, and we need to know what you are looking for.

6. Follow us, and share our blog content on social media.

How to use ergo to retain employees, concluded:

Here are the questions we promised, to help you interpret what your neck muscles are trying to tell you right now:

1. If my job required me to work in a position like this all day, how would I feel at the end of the day? Would my muscles hurt? Would I be satisfied in my chosen career?

2. If I left work feeling like this every day, would it matter that I was getting paid $2/hour more than the neighbouring tech company offers? What if I was paid the same?

3. Did I catch the planted typo on page 2? Chances are that you were uncomfortable and rushed to get to the end of the document. Do you think this doesn’t happen when employees are uncomfortable in the workplace?

4. Did I feel like the entire exercise was taking too long? Productivity is affected by ergonomics, too. Employees who are comfortable are able to do more work. Period.

Do you share our goals? Unscramble the words to find out what Taylor’d Ergo can do for you.

Missed our blog? Here’s what we’ve been talking about lately:

Is bigger better? (not when it comes to screen size!)

Hug the load: 4 ways that employees and employers can carry out this most important lifting tip, to lift with your hands close

Check it out—ergonomics and cashiers

Light lullabies—using artificial light to help you sleep and wake more comfortably

A prescription for ergo assessments (doctor ’s notes for ergo assessments)

Ask for links to our e-news(info@taylordergo.com). Alternatively, follow us on facebook or twitter @taylordergo.com

May/June/July 2017 No. 128

A bi-monthly publication from © Taylor’d Ergonomics 38 Water Street South Cambridge, ON N1R 3C5 phone (519) 623-7733 fax (519) 623-9164 www.taylordergo.com info@taylordergo.com

Last call for spring training

For more details, or to register online, please visit our website www.taylordergo.com/workshop/.

Please register me for:

Physical Demands Analysis, Tuesday-Wednesday, May 9-10, 2017

This two-day session will allow participants, including ergo co-op students and interns, nurses, safety coordinators, and return-to-work coordinators, to collect data and write an objective, concise physical demands analysis report for the WSIB, employee's doctor, physiotherapist, or for internal company use. Participants learn how to measure forces, quantify “repetition”, and obtain useful workstation and task photos. $785+hst HST#89765 6377

Driver Ergo Wednesday, May 31, 2017 Participants will learn to how identify ergo hazards encountered by drivers, and how to implement some solutions. Learn how to adjust the driver’s compartment for optimum comfort and safety, and how to select the best vehicle for you, or for your fleet. $365+hst HST#89765 6377

Return-to-work Thursday, June 8, 2017 Participants will learn how to communicate with health care providers to ensure that everyone understands the language used to describe functional abilities. They also learn how to use the objective data in a physical demands analysis in order to effectively resolve return-to-work challenges.

$350+hst HST#89765 6377

Special requests: Clients have asked us to consider running another “101 Ergo Solutions” course, “Lifting train the trainer” course, and “Office ergo” course before the fall. If you have a small group of participants who would be interested in these sessions, please contact Carrie to explore the possibility of sharing a session with another client.

Register and pay online at www.taylordergo.com. Or complete and fax this page to 519 623 9164, with your purchase order number, or mail it with a cheque to Taylor’d Ergonomics, 38 Water Street South, Cambridge, ON N1R 3C5. Your registration will be confirmed by email, 1-2 weeks before the course. Register early, as space is limited. Cancellations within one week of the workshop will be subject to a $100 charge, although substitutions are welcome at any time. Name(s):______________________________________ Company:___________________________________

Phone: _______________________________________ Fax:________________________________________

e-mail: _______________________________________ P.O.#_______(if no PO, send cheque with registration)

Need in-house ergo training for your employees? Our hands-on, skill-based one-hour “face-2-face” sessions (driver, office, industrial, or lifting) can be provided for as little is $275/group (4 sessions in one day), plus materials ($5 per person), and mileage. Contact us for details.

If this mailing label is incorrect, please correct it and send a photo to 905 979 0356. Or e-mail us at info@taylordergo.com.